Update: Canada Proceeds With Second Consultation Over Chinese Imports

On September 10, 2024, the Canadian government announced a new 30-day consultation regarding potential measures to protect critical manufacturing sectors in Canada.

A previous consultation led to tariff measures being announced against Chinese-made electric vehicles (effective October 1, 2024) and against certain steel and aluminum products (effective October 15, 2024). 

For this new consultation, the government is seeking input on additional tariffs targeting products in the electric vehicle supply chain and other technologies that support Canada’s net-zero transition. These products include solar panels, semiconductors, batteries, associated parts and critical minerals.

Items Considered for Potential Tariffs

A summary of the proposed list of products under consideration for the additional tariffs is provided below, with a more detailed list available in Annex 1 to the consultation announcement:

Batteries and Battery Parts

• Tariff Item Class 8507: Lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, motorcycles, other applications, and their associated parts

Semiconductors

• Tariff Item Class 8541-8542: Diodes, transistors, light-emitting diodes (LED), certain semiconductor devices, electronic integrated circuits, and their associated parts

Solar Products

• Tariff Item Class 8541: Photosensitive semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells (whether or not assembled into modules or panels)

Critical Minerals

• Tariff Item Class 2504, 2602, 2605, 2606, 2608, 2610, 2611, 2825, 2841, 2844, 2849, 7202, 7901, 8001, 8101, 8103, 8112, 8505
• Manganese, cobalt, zinc, chromium, tungsten, ferronickel, ferro-niobium, tin, permanent magnets, certain radioactive elements with their associated compounds, and ceramic products containing the subject radioactive elements

China’s Response

On September 6, 2024, China submitted a request for consultations with Canada at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the newly announced tariffs. China takes the position that these measures are a violation of Canada’s obligations under the WTO agreements.

In addition to the WTO complaint, on September 3, 2024, China commenced an anti-dumping investigation into canola imports from Canada and announced that it will initiate an anti-dumping investigation on other Canadian chemical products.

We will continue to monitor these developments as new information becomes available. 

For any questions about the new surtaxes or the ongoing public consultations, please contact the authors or any other member of our International Trade group.